For the second time in less than a month, Southern California has lost a paved, short-track stock car venue.

Officials at Irwindale Speedway announced Monday that the half-mile track has canceled its 2012 season only hours after the track’s operating company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Earlier, Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino canceled its 2012 season.

With the closures, the closest paved ovals to San Diego are the quarter-miles at Willow Springs, Blythe and Lake Havasu and the half-mile at Las Vegas.

Barona Speedway, which opens its 2012 season on March 17, and Perris Auto Speedway are the two remaining dirt ovals in the area.

“It’s not a good time for stock car racers from San Diego County,” said David Beat, a former racer who is now an official with NASCAR’s touring K&N West Series.

After Cajon Speedway closed in 2004, San Diego County stock car drivers routinely traveled to Irwindale and San Bernardino to race. But as their Cajon equipment aged, drivers slowly parked their cars.

Last year, only a half dozen local drivers campaigned their stock cars and trucks at the two venues.

“I think it dies until another track opens, if one opens,” said Beat. “You might go to Las Vegas for a special race or join a touring series. But I don’t see drivers towing that far for a weekly program.”

Locally, Barona Speedway is an option — but only for drivers willing to race on a quarter-mile, dirt bullring.

“The upper echelon local racers are running out of options,” said Beat, who stopped racing during the 2010 season. “It just became too expensive and took too much time to travel to Irwindale every week.”

Opened in 1999 as a state-of-the-art short track, Irwindale featured a banked oval with 6,500 seats. NASCAR ran its annual East/West All-Star race for development level drivers at the track through the 2010 season.

But attendance and car counts dwindled in recent seasons and Toyota withdrew its title sponsorship at the end of last season. Irwindale listed debts of $331,773 in its bankruptcy filing.

“There are different opinions about what happened to Irwindale,” said Beat. “It got very expensive to race there, it cost drivers a lot just to keep up with the changing rules. The car counts dropped and when that happened the number of fans were down.

“It was a bad downward spiral.”

Johnson finding his way

For the five seasons as NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson never had a problem finding the Lowe’s garage and team transporter at every track.

The reigning champion always gets the first garage and the first parking place in the line of big-rig haulers. It might seem like a small perk, but it is a spot of honor.

Johnson admitted he got confused a couple of times during the recent Sprint Cup tests at Daytona International Speedway.

“A couple times I drove past my stall,” said Johnson. “I don’t think it will be the last time I do it, either.

“If you see me wandering around the garage before the first practice each weekend, it’s probably because I’m looking for our hauler. It’s definitely something I know myself and my team will miss, but it only makes us more motivated to get that spot back.”

The NASCAR season unofficially starts this weekend with the Budweiser Shootout and pole qualifying for the Feb. 26 Daytona 500.